The video recordings of the 15th Briefing session (“From Global Food Crisis to Local Food Insecurity”) are now available.

Article 13 on ‘Migration’ is a priority issue for European Union member states in the revision of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement (CPA). However, the ongoing revision process scheduled to be finalised at the end of February 2010 does not seem to be even moderately high on anyone’s agenda. This is a shame, as surely it is in the interest of both parties to make the most of this framework for ACP-EU relations that will expire in 2020.

Martinique’s banana growers have cause for concern. The European Union has signed an agreement ending the preferential tariffs they previously enjoyed. The conflict between Latin American and ACP banana producers regarding EU customs tariffs had raged for over ten years. The EU rules allowed ACP producers, and therefore Caribbean countries, to export their produce to Europe at very low tariffs. This incensed «dollar banana» growers who were obliged to pay 176 Euros per tonne of fruit. The World Trade Organisation had ruled against the measure several times.

According to information transmitted to APA in the Mauritian capital Port Louis, the European Union has decided to provide Mauritius with 16 million dollars in financial assistance to mitigate the effects of the world economic crisis. Sources close to the Finance Ministry say the subsidy has been granted under the FLEX Vulnerability Mechanism which set up by the EU to help address the impact of the international economic recession on industrial exports and tourism. Mauritius will receive another EU subsidy in the resource allocation scheduled for next year. The sources indicate that Mauritius is one of the first group of 13 African, Caribbean and Pacific countries to benefit from financial help as a result of the European Commission’s decision, and that the EU initially plans to release 239 million Euros.

Success at the Doha trade talks could stimulate economic recovery worldwide, but the European Commission must stick to its negotiating brief on market access for farm and non-farm products and services, said Parliament in a resolution approved in Strasbourg.

African and Pacific countries continue to negotiate the challenging Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with the European Union. These new agreements have the potential to help African countries accelerate their economic growth and develop more resilient economies. However, the presence of negotiating deadlocks or a sense of fatigue as well as the lack of real appetite for these agreements among many African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) negotiators, raise legitimate questions regarding their structure and content, as well as their ability to constitute instruments to leverage economic growth. Read Essays on the Future of Economic Partnership Agreements.

The 2986th Council meeting on Agriculture and Fisheries held in Brussels on 14-16 December 2009  reached a political agreement on a draft regulation setting fishing opportunities for 2010 for Community vessels in the waters of the Atlantic, the Channel and the North Sea (TACs and quotas for the Baltic and Black Seas were already adopted on 20 and 27 November). In line with long-term conservation management plans applicable for certain stocks, the Council agreed to reductions, compared to 2009, for some species.

The 2986th Council meeting on Agriculture and Fisheries held in Brussels on 14-16 December 2009 reached a partial political agreement on the text of a draft Regulation laying down the obligations of operators who place timber and timber products on the market. The political agreement on the entire text could be reached during one of the Council forthcoming meeting. The European Parliament adopted its opinion on 22 April 2009. The Council adopted the FLEGT (Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade) Regulation in December 2005 and gave the Commission mandate to open negotiations with third countries willing to enter voluntary partnership agreements.